Conventionally, there is known a controller support device capable of simulating a control program executed for each control cycle within a controller that controls the operation of a machine, and that contains a sequence control module and a motion control module.
For instance, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Number 2011-192016 (Patent Document 1) discloses a controller support device which, when simulating a control program that includes motion control, is capable of re-executing the simulation from a control cycle between the start and the end of execution. More specifically, the controller support device simulates one cycle of the sequence control subprogram in the control program and generates the execution results for the sequence control subprogram. The controller support device simulates one cycle of the motion control subprogram and generates the execution results for the motion control subprogram. Subsequently, the controller support device increments and updates the control cycle number. The controller support device determines whether or not the control cycle is restartable, and if the controller support device determines the control cycle is restartable, the controller support device saves the contents of a restart data buffer updated during the previous control cycle to a restart data storage device.